Concentration is a cornerstone of mindfulness practice. Your mindfulness will only be as robust as your capacity to ground your attention in the present moment.

Meditation is not about getting rid of thoughts; it's about changing the way we relate to them.

The practice of Zen is forgetting the self in the act of uniting with something.

The practice is not about achieving special states but about seeing ordinary experience with extraordinary clarity.

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.

In the moment of love, awareness is very strong. Use that awareness, that strength of consciousness, to look into yourself.

Suffering comes from our resistance to what is. Peace comes from our acceptance of what is.

The affairs of the world will go on forever. Do not delay the practice of meditation.

All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddha.

Every small positive change we make in ourselves repays us in confidence in the future.

The dharma is not about collecting more beliefs but about becoming free from the power of belief itself.

The treasure house within you contains everything, and you are free to use it. You don't need to seek outside.

To live – is that not enough? To love – is that not everything?

Liberation is found in the practice, not in the theory.

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.

The root of suffering is resisting the certainty that no matter what the circumstances, uncertainty is all we truly have.

The best way to control people is to encourage them to be mischievous. Then they will be in control in a wider sense.

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

Altruism is not a luxury, it is a necessity for the survival of humanity.

When you realize the emptiness of all phenomena, compassion will arise in your heart for all sentient beings who do not understand this truth.

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced state of mind.

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

Metta is the ability to embrace all parts of ourselves, as well as all parts of the world.

Past thoughts are traceless, clear, and empty. Future thoughts are unborn and fresh. The present moment abides naturally and unconstructed.

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness.

The way to change the world is to change your own mind.

We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

Our defilements are like tame tigers. If you feed them, they're tame. If you stop feeding them, they'll eat you up.

Wisdom is not something we have to strive to acquire. Rather, wisdom arises naturally as we open our hearts to the truth of what is.